Cairns gears up for cruise boom

PORT of Cairns is expecting three maiden visits among 10 cruise ship arrives over the course of December.

Ports North chairman Russell Beer said the month caps off a “great year” for Cairns.

“All up, we will have had 57 cruise ship visits through the port for 2018,” he said.

“And these numbers will only increase as the Cairns Shipping Development Project opens up our waterways to larger cruise ships in the future.”

On Sunday, the Cairns home-based Coral Discoverer made an overnight visit to the Cairns Cruise Liner Terminal.

On Wednesday, Seabourn Sojourn made its first-ever visit to Cairns with approximately 787 passengers and crew on board, having travelled from Conflict Island in PNG.

As with all maiden visits, Ports North will hold a plaque presentation with the ship’s captain to commemorate the occasion.

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A second newcomer, Viking Orion, will be arriving at the CCLT on Sunday. This new cruise ship, launched earlier this year, carries 550 crew and 930 passengers and boasts a high-tech planetarium in keeping with its exploration themes (it was christened by astronaut Anna Fisher).